Mad Rogue Genie Alert

The Treasury Department says the federal government already has run up a record deficit of $485.2 billion in just the first three months of the current budget year. This means that the deficit is on track to surpass $1 trillion for all of fiscal 2009. The true number, of course, is much higher because the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are conveniently absent from the Jethro Bodine-like ciphering. The true deficit figure, therefore, is much, much higher.

All the red ink is occurring because of the massive spending on the $700 billion financial rescue program and a prolonged recession which has depressed. Spending is up and tax revenues are down, but nobody wants to cut any of the spending to which we have all grown accustomed. Meanwhile the Treasury is printing money as fast as it can. Combine these happy facts with rising record unemployment and the $1 trillion 'stimulus' package Obama wants to sic on the problem, and we're cooking fresh asphalt for the Heaven Help Me Highway.

Get ready for the Horror Hayride. The genie is poised at the mouth of the bottle, and once he's out we'll never get him back in.